Secret of the Silver Bow VI: The Broken Bow
by To Thine Own Self Be True101
Summary: Three. Its an important number. Three fates. Three furies. The big three gods. Three parts of a bow. The body, the grip and the string. If one of these pieces is missing the bow won't work. The children of Artemis are like the bow. If one is missing nothing is right. Aikatrina Faye Clover believes Shamrock is alive. He has to be. If he isn't it could spell war for Olympus...
1. The Hunter

**You didn't really think I'd leave you hanging like that did you? Well I'm not that mean but you are going to be... angry with me for how this turns out...**

**Have fun...  
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Secret of the Silver Bow Part VI the Broken Bow

One

The Hunter

_With one light on in one room  
I know you're up when I get home  
With one small step upon the stair  
I know your look when I get there  
If you were a king up there on your throne  
Would you be wise enough to let me go  
For this queen you think you own  
Wants to be a hunter again_

_-Hunter, Dido_

Aikatrina

I bounced out of bed and looked over at my sister, Lily was still asleep. She was not a morning person, never had been and never would be. I hoped out of bed, my feet hitting the soft earth beneath. I pulled on my silver hunting tunic and dashed out side, not even bothering to brush the curled black mess that was my hair.

I ran across camp in the cold February morning, the sun was just beginning to rise and my parents weren't up yet. It didn't occur to me that Grace might still be asleep, but when I opened her tent I saw her pulling her short hair into a pony tail.

People have told me it used to reach her waist when she first joined, but after about a hundred years she cut it. She cut it to her shoulders, which was just long enough to have a ponytail, right after the incident about fourteen years ago. They also tell me Grace's eyes used to light up when she spoke, though I had never seen that, they always seemed to either be the same dull way the always were or they were brimming with tears.

Grace turned and looked at me, I smiled, and she waved at me to come in. I sat on her bed which smelled like Lilac and something else I couldn't quiet place, it was an old scent though, I'm sure Grace could smell it.

"Aikatrina," Grace spoke in her accented voice. "Have you brushed your hair?"

I giggled. "No."

"I can tell." She said. Her jeans were a big too big, as was her t-shirt. I don't remember a time when everything didn't hang loosely on her, though I'm not surprised it does, she eats very little and sleeps even less. It's not healthy but I know she lays awake at night and thinks about him.

"Why should I?" I wrinkled my nose.

"What would your Mam say if she saw you like that today?" She turned and looked at me with those piercing eyes, the ones that would catch everything, every hair out of place, ever movement; none of it would get past her watchful eyes.

"She doesn't care!" I scowled.

After fourteen years my mother still resents me a bit, I know I ought to be dead, I know someone they all cared about died for me years ago. Him. Shamrock. My brother. They tell me he was a character, snarky, undaunted, fun, danger prone, yet he seemed to care about everyone. They tell me he had great adventures, they even tell me they thought he'd died several times before he actually did.

All of this and I have never once seen his picture. My mother can't even look at me, and when she does its comparing me to Shamrock. My father raised me more than my mother and Grace was like a mother, a sister and an aunt all rolled into one.

"Grace?" I asked.

"Yes Aikatrina?" She turned back around to face me.

"What did Shamrock look like?" I asked.

"Well he looked a lot like your sister, Silver eyes, auburn hair; he was 4'11" and 90 pounds 6.5 ounces. His entire body seemed to be made of muscle and bone." She said softly.

"Could I have seen his hair?" I asked.

"No probably not." She whispered.

This would be a good time to explain that I am red-green color blind, I have never seen grace's hair, never seen the leaves in the summer. I don't know why or how I just know some things I can see in color and everything else is in shades of gray.

One other question has been burning in the back of my mind for a long time, but I've never asked it. I know if I do I could hurt Grace and before I haven't wanted to do that, but now I have such a burning desire to know that it just kind of spills out of my mouth.

"Did you love Shamrock?" I blurted out. Grace sighs and smiles weekly, looking down at me. "I'm sorry I didn't think!" I tried once I'd processed what I'd said.

"Its fine, sometimes I forget you are going to stay ten years-old forever." She whispered. "Yes though, I did. The entire hunt did, even though he drove us crazy half the time."

I thought about telling her that she hadn't answered the question, I had been specifically asking about her, but decided I should hold my tongue.

That's one thing Grace taught me well, to always see and care about others emotions, she said that if I didn't it could get me to trouble. Something about her during this entire lesson had seemed, well, different. Sadder then she usually say, because Grace always looked to be just moments away from tears.

"Are we going to the memorial today?" I wondered. In all fourteen years of my life I can never remember once going to a memorial, usually Grace and I did our own type of thing, hunting in a favorite spot of his or doing something he loved, one year we even went to Ellis Island, the sight of one of his adventures.

"No Aikatrina, we're not." She sighed, looking over me. "Now go put something good on."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"I'll tell you when you put your dress on." Grace was firm, she always had been. I sighed and resided to going to get dressed.

I bounced onto my bed and over to my dresser pulling out the lovely pink dress Grace had made for me. It had white flowers on it and a beautiful purple "A" embroidered on it. This was one of the many things Grace had made me over the years, but one of the only, normal things. Usually she made hunting tunics.

In the days when I had been small I would often be playing by the river or in the camp and she would be making a tunic, or repairing a pair of jeans. Bed time had always been my favorite; she would tell me a story right before I went to bed. Usually it was about her family in Ireland but occasionally they would be about my brother. Those were the ones I loved the most.

I pulled the dress over my head and ran back into Grace's tent. "Can we go now?" I asked.

"Alright fine, I'll tell you where we're going" she rolled her eyes in that very Grace way. "Your brother used to live with Apollo in a house in the woods. The house isn't too far from here, that's where we're going."

"Really?" I squealed.

"Aikatrina." Grace warned.

I rolled my eyes "I know I know, squealing isn't lady like." If there is one thing Grace put lots of emphasis on in raising me it was being lady like, which I was pretty good about most of the time. Of course I did slip up but she always warned me when I did.

"Well you are a lot like your brother I guess I should know I can only expect you to be lady like ninety nine percent of the time." She smiled.

"Grace, was my brother badly behaved?" I pestered.

"I wouldn't say that. I would call him danger prone and a little bit of a wild child." Grace smiled. "It wasn't really his fault he was just born that way. He also had a million pet peeves. Crying children being one of them. No matter how much he denied it though, he really did love you."

"Grace, he died for me didn't he?" I whispered.

"Yes. He did, but I'm glad I didn't try to stop him." She said.

"Why?" I Asked.

"Because if I had then I wouldn't have Shamrock, he wouldn't be the same, and you wouldn't be here." She whispered. "Now let's go tell your father we're leaving."

Grace and I walked over to my dad's tent and I peeked in, he was sharpening arrow heads with Sirius at his feet. "Daddy, Grace and I are leaving now."

He looked up at me and smiled. "Alright, have a nice time." HE came over and hugged me. "Be good for Grace."

"She's always good Lord Orion." Grace said.

"Alright, have a nice time I'll see you when you get back." He said.

"Can we take Sirius?" I asked, more to Grace then my dad. Dad never minded if we took the dog, Grace on the other hand did, she minded a great deal if the dog slept in my bed. He wasn't that big just a small white dog. He used to be my dad's, then when he died for the first time my moms, after that Shamrock's. Now he's more of the hunts dog.

"Alright, just this once." Grace said.

"Yay!" I grabbed the leash from next to his bowl. "Come on boy!"

"Goody bye Lord Orion." Grace said and we ducked out of the tent and the cool morning air came over us. "Aikatrina, where's your jacket?"

"In my tent." I said.

"Go get it." Grace ordered. I sighed and complied, knowing that it was no use arguing with Grace, it never was. She had always been very strict, if I was asked to do something I was expected to do it immediately, no questions asked. I usually didn't argue, but sometimes I did, she says I'm too much like my mother not to argue sometimes.

I don't like being compared to my mother, the woman who was so distant from me. The woman who left me in the care of a fourteen year old (Even if she was immortal) since I was just six months old, sure Grace had taken care of me with the help of my father but it wasn't the same. I felt like Grace was more my mother then Lady Artemis. I had never even called Lady Artemis mother, when I was starting to talk I always called Grace my mother, and she would always correct me. Insisting that I called her Grace.

Secretly when I'm alone writing in my journal (Which Grace insisted I keep) I call her mother, because I needed one, and when I did she stepped in. Occasionally we would go for a ride in the moon chariot with my mother and for as long as I can remember I would insist on Grace coming with me and I would sit on her lap. I know that must have hurt my mother but strangely I didn't care.

I grabbed my jacket and straightened the pillows on my bed. The Jacket was an older style, Victorian style. It was a beautiful deep Blue, with a silver ribbon around the middle; Grace had made it for me.

She always loved to dress me like a child from her time, on heritage day I had the option of dressing in the Victorian era clothes Grace had made for me (Which were much more extravagant then the clothes she had grown up in) or the clothes from my father's time. Usually I opted to wear the ones Grace had made for me, partially because I knew how they went on. The ones from my father's time had no zipper or buttons and I wasn't ever entirely sure how to get it on.

I ran over to her and grabbed Grace's hand. "Come on Grace!"

"Okay Aikatrina!" She laughed a little, something I didn't really ever hear her do. I drug her of and soon we were running at hunter speed, my hair was flying and I couldn't help but laugh. I loved this.

Soon we were in front of a house. The lights were off, the door handle was dusty. He pain on the outside was faded from yellow to a dirty dull color. The door had antlers carved onto it and the entire thing buzzed with immortal energy. Apollo had put a protection all around it. Only me, Grace, my father, my sister ad Lady Artemis were allowed in.

Grace stood for a few minutes outside just staring at the house. I looked at her and for a few moments her façade slipped and I saw her face flash with a thousand emotions.

"Are you okay Grace?" I asked looking up at her, the façade flew back up instantly and she kneeled down to my height.

"Aikatrina, it's been fourteen years since I've been here, and the last time I was here was when we found out who you were. This place means more to me then you will ever understand." She hugged me tightly. I still got the feeling I wouldn't understand because there was something she hadn't told me about who Shamrock was to her.

I always knew they had been close friends, but I never knew how close. Grace had never even shown me a picture of him. I knew she must have one somewhere, but I had never asked because it made her so sad to talk about him.

At home when referring to Shamrock we always said 'him' never 'Shamrock' or 'Sham' I knew Sham had been his nickname and Uncle Percy and Aunt Annabeth often referred to him as Sham. I never really knew who they were talking about though. Shamrock was one topic I hardly ever went to Grace for. Sometimes I went to dad but if I was really dying to know or something the Hunt or Apollo wouldn't tell me I went to Aunt Annabeth and Uncle Percy.

Grace stood up, the knees of her pants wet from the snow and she drew her jacket close around her, it was a boy's jacket, black hoody, she'd been wearing it for as long as I could remember, it was a little big on her but she didn't seem to mind. After years it had taken on a soft scent of lilac, but there was always the stronger scent of something wild there. No doubt it had been my brothers.

"Come on we'll go inside, I've brought some Hot Chocolate and the heat should still work." She said, and we stepped over the boarder to go in. I got the feeling we weren't so alone anymore…

Grace

Grace's green eyes opened to the cool February air. Another day to drag herself out of bed and into the world. She had been doing it for fourteen years and she was going to do it today if it killed her. She threw the blankets – which still carried a hint of his scent – off of her and stood up. She pulled open the dresser and ran her finger over a series of black, green and silver hunting tunics. They were his, none of them had been worn in years, and they would never be worn again.

Grace closed the top drawer and opened the middle on, she pulled out a pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt. She unbuttoned her night gown and let it fall to the ground. She glanced at her self in the mirror which was above the dresser, her skin was pale, and her hair like fire. That didn't distract from the dark circles underneath her eyes from just a few hours of sleep, it had been years since she had slept properly. Or eaten properly, she had to be five pounds under weight.

She pulled the clothes on and tied a piece of rope around her waist to keep the jeans up. Grace grabbed a brush from the dresser and started to pull her hair into a ponytail. Years ago she had cut it short enough to just be pulled back into a ponytail. Shamrock used to love to play with Grace's hair most of the time he got it knotted but she didn't mind, it was kind of cute.

She glanced over at the tent flap and saw Aikatrina's black curly mess of curls peering in at her. She beckoned for her to come in. Little Aikatrina Faye Clover, came dancing in just like the little fairy she was named for. Her hair was a mess.

"Aikatrina." Grace's voice was stern. "Have you brushed your hair?"

Aikatrina giggled. "No."

" I can tell." She said sternly, tying the rope a little tighter around her.

Aikatrina wrinkled her freckled nose. "Why should I?"

"What would your mam say if she saw you like that today?" Grace raised both eyebrows. The truth was probably nothing.

"She doesn't care!" Exclaimed Aikatrina. The sad part was that it was true, Lady Artemis could hardly look at sweet little Aikatrina. Lady Artemis could hardly look at the child, which meant that the task of rasing her had been left up to Orion all these years. Orion was a good father, but more often then not Grace got put with the task of raising her.

Aikatrina was often the cause of Orion and Lady Artemis' frequent spats, they disagreed on just about everything about her now. Orion wanted Lady Artemis to give her a chance but Lady Artemis didn't want her. If it hadn't been for Orion and Grace's pleading Lady Artemis would have had her sent straight to the orphanage. It made Grace sad, no child should be raised like that.

Grace turned away from the child, tears threatening to spill over.

"Grace?" Aikatrina asked. Grace took a deep breath and regained control.

"Yes Aikatrina?" Grace asked, turning back to face her.

"What did Shamrock look like?" Aikatrina asked.

Grace ought to have seen this coming, Aikatrina had never seen a picture of Shamrock, and had no memory of what he looked like. She had asked almost every other question but never this one. Grace had answered most of them, but others she waved off.

"Well he looked a lot like your sister, Silver eyes, auburn hair; he was 4'11" and 90 pounds 6.5 ounces. His entire body seemed to be made of muscle and bone." Grace said softly, even those few brief sentences brought a vivid image of him to mind.

It was a warm day and they had been babysitting Aikatrina. Shamrock was dozing in the grass and Aikatrina slept on top of him. Sham's hair was being blown by a gentle breeze, and her seemed happy. This was what was brought to mind at that moment, and it was almost too much for Grace.

"Could I have seen his hair?" Aikatrina piped up, bringing Grace out of her thoughts. Aikatrina was red-green color blind and most likely wouldn't have seen anything other then a dull brownish-gray for Shamrock's hair.

"No, probably not." Grace whispered, and again the image of Sham and Aikatrina came to mind. She even remembered what he was wearing, a gray Artemis Hunting Tour t-shirt, and a pair of faded jeans. His bow lie next to him and an arrow lay waiting by his side. Again Grace was driven to the point of near tears, but that couldn't have prepared her for what came next.

"Did you love Shamrock?" Aikatrina blurted, Grace jumped and looked at her, debating if she ought to tell her the truth or not. Guilt flashed across Aikatrina's sweet little face. "I'm sorry I didn't think!"

Grace decided on a partial truth. "It's fine, sometimes I forget you are going to stay ten years-old forever." She whispered. "Yes though, I did. The entire hunt did, even though he drove us crazy half the time."

Aikatrina looked like she wanted to ask more but held her tongue. Grace had taught her to think before she spoke, and it paid off, though occasionally Aikatrina slipped up.

"Are we going to the memorial today?" Aikatrina asked. Grace had never once in the last fourteen years so much as set foot near the memorial service, it had always been much too hard for her. She had considered it this year, though the very thought of setting eyes on yet another shroud with his picture on it had driven her to the point of tears.

"No Aikatrina, we're not." Grace looked over Aikatrina, who knew quiet well what she was wearing was not appropriate for the occasion at all. "Now go put something good on."

"Where are we going?" Aikatrina pestered, another thing Grace was slowly teaching her not to do.

"I'll tell you when you put your dress on." Grace said, in the firm tone Aikatrina was so used to hearing. She knew what it meant and scurried off.

Grace had spent time making all of Aikatrina's clothes, from the ones worn on heritage day to the ones she played in. Each stitch had been hand sewn and every detail embroidered on.

Aikatrina came dancing in, she wore the pink dress with the little white flowers and embroidered A today, the newest one Grace had made her just for today's occasion. "Can we go now?" She begged

"Alright fine, I'll tell you where we're going" Grace rolled her eyes, something else she had spent years doing around Aikatrina. "Your brother used to live with Apollo in a house in the woods. The house isn't too far from here, that's where we're going."

"Really?" She squealed jumping and skipping out of sheer joy.

"Aikatrina." Grace warned, she knew very well that squealing wasn't lady like at all.

"I know I know, squealing isn't lady like." She rolled her eyes in a way Grace supposed she had learned from all those years of watching her roll her eyes. All the years Grace had put into making the child as lady like and honest as possible and there were still a few things that needed to be worked on. Squealing was one of them

"Well you are a lot like your brother I guess I should know I can only expect you to be lady like ninety nine percent of the time." She smiled. Yes the girl was a lot like Shamrock, though much less reckless. She was just as head strong though.

"Grace, was my brother badly behaved?" Aikatrina pestered, it was always the day of the memorial service that she wanted to know everything about her older brother.

"I wouldn't say that. I would call him danger prone and a little bit of a wild child." Grace smiled down at her. "It wasn't really his fault he was just born that way. He also had a million pet peeves. Crying children being one of them. No matter how much he denied it though, he really did love you."

"Grace, he died for me didn't he?" Aikatrina whispered. Sometimes the child was too smart of her own good.

"Yes. He did, but I'm glad I didn't try to stop him." She said honestly, she didn't know if she could have forgiven herself for making Shamrock stay and having a baby die.

"Why?" Aikatrina pushed. Grace debated not answering her question for a moment but decided the child deserved to know.

"Because if I had then I wouldn't have Shamrock, he wouldn't be the same, and you wouldn't be here." She whispered. "Now let's go tell your father we're leaving."

Grace walked over to Orion's tent, Aikatrina ducked in and pulled Grace in behind her. "Daddy, Grace and I are leaving now."

Orion looked up from what he was doing.. "Alright, have a nice time." HE came over and hugged Aikatrina, something that Her mother never did. "Be good for Grace."

"She's always good Lord Orion." Grace said.

"Alright, have a nice time I'll see you when you get back." He said.

"Can we take Sirius?" Aikatrina asked, more to Grace. Aikatrina knew full well Grace didn't like that dog, it was unhealthy for the dog to sleep in Aikatrina's tent, though Aikatrina loved it when he did. Sirius was more the hunts dog now then Shamrocks, or Grace's.

"Alright, just this once." Grace said, she figured that given where they were going they ought to at least bring Shams dog.

"Yay!" Aikatrina grabbed his leash and clipped it on his collar "Come on boy!"

"Goody bye Lord Orion." Grace said politely before ducking out of the tent. "Aikatrina, where's your jacket?"

"In my tent." Aikatrina said.

"Go get it." Grace ordered. Aikatrina sighed, but went to get her jacket. She had always been an obedient child, one who never failed to make Grace think about her own childhood. Of course there were still those little spats where grace knew she was a lot like her own mother.

Aikatrina had always hated being compared to her mother. Secretly Grace couldn't blame her, what kind of mother hated her child? Grace had some resentment towords her Lady ever since then and honestly wasn't the least bit surprised when Aikatrina called her "Mama" When she was little instead of Lady Artemis. Grace had been quick to correct this behavior.

Grace knew it would hurt Lady Artemis to see Aikatrina call Grace mother, but she almost hadn't cared. She knew Shamrock would have been furious at his mother if he knew that Aikatrina had been treated like this for so long. If he was still alive that it.

Aikatrina came dashing out, her black curls bouncing , against her Jacked. It was a beautiful deep Blue, with a silver ribbon around the middle; Grace had made it herself, hand sewing each stich and stuffing it with soft feathers. It was the kind of coat Grace had made in the factories.

She always loved to dress Aikatrina in the fine clothes of Victorian children, and often on heritage day Aikatrina had opted to wear a Victorian dress and Greek sandals and head dressings, showing she wasn't Victorian but had never felt entirely Greek either.

Aikatrina ran over and grabbed Grace's hand in her own small and cold one. Grace nearly scolded her for not taking her gloves but decided to let it slide this time. "Come on Grace!"

"Okay Aikatrina!" Grace laughed a little at how happy Aikatrina was. Something she never did often. Soon they were off at hunter speed, Aikatrina's black ringlets flying behind her and Graces own red ponytail streaming like a fiery ribbon.

Soon they stood in front of the house Grace had spent several days in after the Volterra incident. The lights were off, the door handle was dusty. The pain on the outside was faded from yellow to a dirty dull color. The door had antlers carved onto it and the entire thing buzzed with immortal energy. Apollo had put a protection all around it. Only Grace, Aikatrina, Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo could get in. Maybe Shamrock if he was still alive too.

Grace stood for a few moments, completely overwhelmed by emotions of happiness, sadness, anger, and nostalgia slammed into her with the force of a thousand claps of thunder. For one moment Grace felt like crying.

"Are you okay Grace?" Aikatrina asked looking up at her. Grace quickly pulled herself together, and put her familiar mask on and knelt down to Aikatrina, her elfish features looking at her. Her single metallic green eye that was so like Shamrock's looking back up at her.

"Aikatrina, it's been fourteen years since I've been here, and the last time I was here was when we found out who you were. This place means more to me then you will ever understand." Grace hugged Aikatrina tightly, fearing for a moment that if she let go of her then Aikatrina too would disappear and leave her alone.

Aikatrina had known they were close, yet Grace had no intent of telling her that she loved Shamrock. No use to send the child into a frenzy of how wrong it was that grace should ever love anyone.

At home when referring to Shamrock they had always said 'he' never Shamrock or Sham, and if Grace or the hunt wouldn't tell her something she went to Annabeth and Percy. They were always prepared to tell Aikatrina anything they could about her brother, but they didn't know all of the story. On rare occasion Aikatrina would go to Nico, who could answer questions about the death of her brother without getting overly emotional.

Grace stood up, the knees of her pants wet from the snow and she drew her jacket close around her, it was a boy's jacket, black hoody, Grace had been wearing it for years. It had been in his tent when she went to clean it out and she just couldn't bear to part with it. It smelled of the wild, of Shamrock. Though after all these years it had taken on the scent of Lilac and grass, but he was still there.

"Come on we'll go inside, I've brought some Hot Chocolate and the heat should still work." Grace said and they stepped over the boarder. Instinctively Grace felt in one of her jacket pockets, where deep down tucked in the corner lay a single three leaf clover, a single Shamrock…

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**Updates will be on Wednesdays ever two weeks so the next one will be on the 28th.**


	2. Save Me San Fransisco

**Remember that authors note in the last chapter? I lied, you do get an update this week. **

**This one is dedicated to My friend Aqua who recently celibrated her birthday.  
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Chapter 2

Save Me San Francisco

_to tell you the truth I miss everything,_

_ everything It's a wild, wild beautiful world_

_ But there's a wide eyed girl back there_

_ And she means everything, everything_

- _Save me San Francisco, Train_

_The Instinct_

_Shamrock_

Shamrock

June 14, 2012

I woke up with a knife to my throat, a girls knees digging into my chest and the entire Roman Army glaring down at me. My body hurt as though I had been ripped into pieces and put back together very, very quickly.

_Well that's what happens when you jump in front of a fate arrow!_

Oh yeah, I'd done that hadn't I? I looked up at the girl, her eyes were black as coal and her hair was curly and black as night. She was much bigger then me and had the air of an authoritative figure. Perfect.

"Um do you mind getting off my chest?" I groaned.

"Where is he?" She demanded, putting the point of her knife to my throat.

"Um… who are we talking about?" I asked.

"Jason Grace, praetor of the Roman Legion." She growled.

"Nope, doesn't ring a bell." I groaned.

"Then I will ask you again. Where is Jason?" She growled.

"I don't know!" I wheezed.

She seemed to realize that she was going to crush me and climbed off. "Fine, your name?"

_Don't let them know your Greek!_

"Shamrock Orion Clover son of… Apollo?" I silently prayed to my uncle to let it slide. Then I remembered he thinks I'm dead.

They all think I'm dead. My mom, Orion, Lilly, Aikatrina, Nico, Percy, Apollo, Grace. Grace, she thinks I've left her again. She thinks I'm just one more person to walk out on her again…

"Well Shamrock Orion Clover, Son of Apollo, welcome to new Rome, after ten years of service you are free to leave." Reyna said.

_Well Shamrock, I guess this is goodbye._

Fourteen years later…

My alarm clock went off and I rolled over and turned it off. I pulled myself out of bed and walked across the room, I dressed in my gold and purple robes. It had taken my years to get here, and now I was finally near the end.

I had started my own cohort, of which I am the only member, and was accepted as a full legionary nine years ago. Last year I was elected praetor, and needless to say I've been pretty successful, granted the not aging thing kind of freaked people out, but I had told them I was the immortal child of Apollo sent to help the camp in their time of need (I have great timing) and low and behold the Romans are really freaking gullible.

I glanced in the back of the closet and pulled off my praetors robe, instead I pulled on a black hunting tunic I haven't worn in years. I glance in the mirror and run my fingers through my messy hair and call it good. I go out onto my balcony. My small cabin is perched on a hill top overlooking New Rome and San Francisco.

The morning air was clear and cold, the early morning sun was a golden color. It was one of those few cold snaps in San Fransisco and reminded me of a day about fifteen years ago, the day I had met Grace.

Grace, she was one of the few things I regretted, I missed her so much. I was forbidden though to leave camp on any day other then my birthday, today. Lupa knew who I was and long ago had forbidden any contact with Grace, or anyone from my past. Occasionally though I couldn't resist and sometimes I would sneak over to see her and my sister. I hadn't once been caught but I longed to talk to them.

I went back inside and poured a cup of coffee, and grabbed my backpack. I opened it and looked at the content. A spare tunic, a first aid kit, cell phone I wasn't supposed to use that and never had, along with a silver dog whistle – I hadn't blown it since my arrival – and a belt with three gem stones inlaid into it – hadn't worn it in years – there at the bottom though lay something else. A travel sized bottle of Lilac Shampoo.

I hadn't carried this backpack in years, but today something told me too.

_Instinct you there?_

Nothing, there hadn't been anything for years. I supposed if it was really important he would talk to me, but he hadn't so how important could it be? Yes, to answer my question I knew this would come back to bite.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" I called.

Reyna came in, her two kids trailing her. "Happy birthday Shamrock."

"Thanks Reyna. Hey, I was thinking of taking the kids to Long Island." I said. Elizabeth ran up and hugged me. "Hey blondie!" She giggled her blonde hair was a mess and her blue eyes sparkled.

"Okay, just don't get in any trouble."

Elizabeths brother, Jason came up, his dark hair and eyes sizing me up, this was typical for the kid.

"Shamrock will you tell a princess Grace story?" Elizabeth begged.

Yes I had kind of made Grace out to be a princess, the one who was always getting the hero out of trouble (i.e. me) and saving the day. Reyna was big on the strong female figures, and it would be hard to portray Grace as a damsel in distress.

"Maybe later." I laughed.

"Shamrock." Reyna said, I looked up. "Remember, stay out of trouble I'll be back at five, I'm really sorry about this."

"It's fine Reyna. Will you find out the gender today?" I asked, gesturing to her stomach.

"Oh, no, it will be at least a month before that." She said.

"Okay, but name the kid after me!" I called as she walked out the door.

"Never!" She called back. I'd known her for years, and about ten years ago she'd gotten married to Jason Grace and then Elizabeth and Jason came along. They hadn't planned for another one yet here they were. She and Jason were expecting a third.

"Okay kids, we're going to visit where I grew up today how's that sound?" I asked.

"Are we going to vist Forks and Knives?" Elizabeth asked. That may or may not have been what I told them when they asked where 'the big doggy' (Lilly's friend Jake) lived.

"No we're going to New York." I said. "To the forest where I grew up."

"Does Princess Grace live there?" Elizabeth asked.

"Of course not!" Jason rolled his eyes in a very Reyna way. "She's not real!"

"Jason, don't crush you're sisters dreams. Elizabeth, Princess Grace is from Ireland." I corrected, I was always touching her up on the details, it kept me from having to make up new stories every single Thursday for the rest of my life. "Now go get your coats."

I sighed and thought about Iris Messaging Grace, just to look at her, but I knew I couldn't do that in front of the kids. They were loud and would give me away. I grabbed my jacket and took one hand of each kid.

"Can we get breakfast?" Elizabeth asked.

"Sure, we'll stop at McDonalds when we get there." I said. Elizabeth yawned, well it was six am, she ought to be in bed right now. Each kid zipped up their jacket and Elizabeth brushed her blonde ringlets out of the way, she looked a lot like my sister. Jason bit me arm. "Hey no biting!" I've said those words more times then I can count to this kid. He's very... Roman

"Well are we going to go?" He rolled his dark eyes at me.

"You are way too much like your mother." I said.

"I know." He said proudly.

"I never said that was something to be proud of." I grumbled.

"My mother was a great praetor, and someday when I over throw you I will be too." He informed me. I swear I am going to start calling this kid Octavian, he thinks like him.

"How very Roman of you." I retorted.

"Thank you." He straightened up. Honestly this kids was a character, I wouldn't be surprised if he was a presidential candidate one day. Of course if that happened the country would go down hill faster then if Romney had won the 2012 election.

"Again, that wasn't necessarily a good thing." I muttered.

"It's better than being a Greek." He pursed his lips, yep he was Reyna's child.

"And how do you think the Greeks would feel about that?" I knelt down to his height.

He folded his arms. "I don't think they would care because they are below me." He really did sound like his mother, Jason was honestly a bit upset that his child, one named after him was so much like his mother.

I decided I would have to talk to Reyna about the way this kid talked, not that I hadn't tried that technique before but she knew full well I was Greek, and touchy about the subject of the Greeks. Of course she and Jason were the only ones who knew about that, but their son was a character alright. Headstrong, political, and just like Reyna. One Reyna I could handle, two? Well if there was a cliff around here I would find it, jump off and hope someone opens a portal.

"Well that's your opinion isn't it?" I said. "Now zip up your coat and lets go."

Jason obliged and finally we were ready to go. I lead them out side and put on a burst of speed. At best it would take fifteen minutes to get to Long Island.

The country whizzed by, from the warm Death Valley desert to the snow covered planes of Kansas. We I decided to stop in St. Louis for some breakfast.

"Can we go to the play land?" Elizabeth asked.

I sighed, I wanted to get to long Island but she gave me the eyes and I said. "Yes, we can go to the play land."

I sat in the McDonalds and ate while Jason commanded the children to "Take the Greek camp by storm" four of the kids appeared to be related and the oldest who was about 8 seemed to be very angry with Jason. Her brown-blonde hair was tangled in her "Spear" which was no more then a stick brought from the out doors. Her blue eyes gave me the vague impression she wanted to murder him so I went in to get him.

"Jason you can't be bossy, come on out here with me." I called. He grumbled and came over to me and the little girls dad looked vaguely familiar. "Have we met before?"

"No…" The girls dad eyed me suspiciously.

"Did you by any chance happen to live in Kansas?" I asked.

"Yeah about fourteen years ago." He said.

"Whoa, small world. Elizabeth, come on time to go!" I called.

She came flying , literally flying, out of the slide and ran right into me. She hasn't exactly quiet gotten her powers over the wind under control yet. We hit the wall and I felt several of my ribs crack, she's heavier then she looks.

"Sorry Uncle Shamrock." She said.

"Its okay." I grabbed my canteen and took a swig of nectar. My ribs started to heal and I sat for a minute. Then I called Jason to me and made them finish their not so healthy orange juice. Finally we seemed ready to go. Elizabeth put on her coat and Jason pulled his on professionally.

"Can we go now?" Elizabeth asked, blinking at me in that sweet way that made me want to give her a castle and all the puppies in the world. "Can we meet princess Grace?"

"Oh sister," Jason chided. "There is no princess Grace. She is merely a made up figure in those fairy tales you so love."

This is why I babysit for free for Reyna. There is never a dull moment with them, literally I have a whole book of things they say to each other on a daily basis, some of them are hilarious and others down right puzzling but all are funny. I consider that my payment and run a blog titled "Things the Romans Say"

"Don't crush your sister's dreams, and yes we can go." I said.

I wasn't about to tell Jason that I had really known "Princess" Grace or that I had loved her. That I still loved her. I sighed and pulled out the small bottle of shampoo from the bottom of my bag and smelled it. Lilac. I loved this scent. I always made me feel, safer somehow. Whenever that I caught that scent I could relax, I felt safe because Grace had made me feel safe and stable. Something I didn't always have.

I took Elizabeth by the hand and Jason in the other and put on a burst of speed. I decided to stop in Virginia to show them the Atlantic Ocean though. Call me ADHD but I really wanted them to touch the Atlantic.

"It's on the wrong side." Elizabeth frowned, usually the ocean was on her left, on this coast it was on her right.

"Well Lizzy-beth," I used my pet name for her and she giggled at me. "That's because you're on the other side of the country, so the Ocean is on the other side." I explained. "Want to go play?"

"Its too cold!" She protested.

"Well maybe we could just play in the sand for a bit." I said. She nodded eagerly and ran to help her brother make a sand castle. I looked to the left of me and saw a girl, about 14 with red hair. "Grace?" I called out.

She turned and frowned. "No I'm Mary."

"Oh sorry I thought you were someone else." I sighed.

"Are you trying to find someone?" Mary asked.

"No." I sighed.

"If you don't mind me asking, is she lost? This Grace girl?" She wondered, sitting in the sand next to me.

"Well yes. No. Not exactly."

"Yes, no not exactly?" Mary raised her eyebrows.

"Well, she's not lost. I'm the one who's lost." I said.

"Oh, well if you want maybe I can help." She said.

"Yeah, actually do you know how to get to Long Island, New York?" I asked.

She smiled. "Yeah I do, Just get on I-95 north and drive, you'll start seeing signs for the city, follow them until you see signs for Brighton Beach. From there just follow the signs for Brighton Beach and eventually that's where you'll end up."

"Brighton beach? Where the Russians live?" I frowned.

"Yeah, that's the main tourist destination there." She said.

"What about Delphi Strawberry farms?" I asked.

"Delphi Strawberry Farms?" She frowned.

"Yeah, do you know where it is?" I Asked.

"Yeah I do, I go there for Summer Camp. Its closed in the winter though." She said. "Why do you want to go there?"

"Um… my mom?" I said.

"Your mom works at Camp Half-Blood?" She raised an eyebrow. Clearly having caught on that I was a demi-god too. "Are those your siblings?" She pointed to Elizabeth and Jason who were building their Sand Castle.

"Well, no. I want to honor her and I'm babysitting." I sighed.

"Oh, well then I could call you the Gray Sisters Cab, it would cost a lot because of how far we are." She said.

"No that's okay its better for me to avoid them, with these guys anyway." I explained.

"Well I'm Mary, daughter of Hephaestus." She smiled. "Who are you."

"Sham."

"Sham? Just Sham?" She frowned.

"Sham, just Sham, son of... a goddess." I said. "If you'll excuse me I have to get going." I stood up and walked away from her.

"Time to go?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yep, lets go." I picked her up and held Jason's hand and ran with the speed of a hunter, straight towards Camp Half Blood.

I wasn't going to Camp though, I was just going to stop, put the kids behind a tree and look. I knew this wasn't going to be easy but I felt as though I had to do it. When we came to a stop I left the kids in a grove of trees across from the hill.

I crossed the road and climbed to the top of the hill. Thalia's pine was heavy with snow and a great bronze dragon guarded her. He looked up and snorted.

"Hey Festus." I whispered. As I looked down on the camp a light snow began to fall, I could see people coming out of the Artemis cabin, dressed nicely. My memorial service.

Its weird enough to crash your own funeral – something I have done – but to crash a memorial service on your birthday? That's just wrong. I didn't see Grace or my little sister amongst them. Well, I didn't think I saw my sister. To be honest I didn't know what she looked like or where she was at the moment. For all I knew she could be blonde by now.

I don't know how I would know but I had a feeling that if I saw my little sister I would know who she was. I sighed, calling out to Instinct once again. I hadn't heard her, Wild, or Conscious since I had "died" I missed them though, there were the one piece of home I had.

I walked back to where the kids were. It had started to snow and they were shivering so I took them about a mile into the woods and started a fire. As the kids warmed up a bit I caught a rabbit and decided to feed them lunch. I knew this would delay us even farther but they were getting hungry and snappy.

While the rabbit roasted in the fire I make them some hot chocolate and Elizabeth climbs in my lap and begs for a princess Grace story. I tell her I'll tell her one and I do but in my head I am seeing the time Grace and I were in the forest in spring, right after we had found Aikatrina.

_I watched her moving through the forest, silently, gracefully and beautifully. She wore her green dress, the old one her mother had made. We were collecting fire wood, well we were supposed to she must have noticed something was wrong with me, so she sat on a log and patted the spot next to her. _

_"Whats wrong?" she asked, brushing her long red hair over one shoulder._

_"I miss traveling around." I confessed. _

_" I know Sham, but until Aikatrina is old enough to move and hunt we'll likely be staying in one spot." She whispered. Her voice sweet and melodic. I also hadn't slept in three days thanks to my sister waking me up at night. _

_I yawned. " I know but can't we at least go to Apollo's? Just for a change?" _

_"No your mother needs her strength and should remain in her domain. Maybe you and I could go for a while though." She sighed. "For now though we have some time why don't you doze for a bit?" _

_I nodded and lay down on the soft earth. When I woke up Grace had a fire going and a tent set up. "What are you doing?" _

_"Camping. You and me, we're camping out here this weekend. Okay?" She asked. _

_"Oh sure, I'll uh go get dinner." I said. _

_Later that night Grace was in her sleeping bag and I was in mine, it was about two am and I had woken up to a whimpering sound, I was about to blame Aikatrina when I remembered where I was. I looked over to where Grace lie, she was whimpering and thrashing around quiet a bit. _

_"Grace." I sat up and nudged her gently and she sat up painting. _

_"What?!" She gasped. _

_"You were having a nightmare." I whispered through the blackness._

_"Oh, sorry if I woke you." She rolled over. "Good night."_

_"Nice try Grace O'Donally, tell me whats wrong!" I demanded. _

_"Okay, I-I was back in Ellis Island and they were torturing you." She whimpered. _

_"Grace." I softened and squeezed her hand. "I'm right here. I'm not getting tortured." _

_"I know, we should get some sleep." She lay back down, and so did I. When I woke up the next morning she still had her hand in mind. _

That was what I was remembering. The story I told went more like this though.

_Once upon a time there was a young hero hunting in the forest. While hunting he came upon creatures from the underworld. He tired to go around him but the two large hellhounds lept at him, he fought valiantly against the enemy. Soon enough though the beasts had him pinned, just as they were about to destroy him a beautiful young maiden appeared, she had long red hair that fell down her back in lovely waves of fire. Her green eyes were like the green grass of spring. She pulled back her bow and fired twice, piercing the heart of each great brute._

_She helped the hero up and introduced herself. "I am princess Grace O'Donally of the Artemisia kingdom." _

_"My lady," The hero asked. "shall I ever see you again?"_

_"No you shall not." She said before turning and fleeing into the forest. _

Yeah I know not the best but Elizabeth loved them. Jason seemed kind of indifferent but I think he really did like them secretly. They had finished the hot cocoa and the rabbit meat, I put some snow on the fire. We were only about five miles from my old house. I could feel it now, I was so close to being home.

Going at hunter speed made the falling snow hit my face like a thousand freezing knives, it hurt and was cold but I didn't mind. All I cared about was that in minutes I would be back where I belonged, for a short while anyway. In less then a year I could return to the hunt and tell them I wasn't dead.

I knew what kind of pain I would probably cause everybody when I did that but I would still be alive and home. I wondered what Aikatrina thought of me? Did she know about my sacrifice? Did Grace take her to my tent?

Grace, that thought hit me like a speeding bullet. She was going to kill me. Of course it was to be expected, I told her I wouldn't leave her like other people had and then I did. I left. She was heartbroken yet somehow she had managed to pull through and raise my sister. That was more then my mother had.

That meant I was back at square one. I resented my mom again I didn't know if I could ever forgive her for abandoning my sister like that. I didn't know what I thought about her. She was my mother still, that wouldn't change. It did change how I felt about her, I was angry with her for abandoning my sweet little sister.

Through an Iris Message one day I had seen Grace pleading and crying with my mother to let her take care of the baby. Mother was ready to send her to the orphanage or to Apollo. Grace may have lost that battle had it not been for Orion, my father stepped in and helped to allow Grace to keep and raise my sister. Grace handled it surprisingly well, the other girls in her tent took turns getting up and bottle feeding her through the night.

She was technically a product of the hunt though through my once monthly Iris messages I watched her become a little Grace. Soft, sweet and caring. She was also much better than I was, when I saw her she never complained to Grace about anything. Grace generally made her clothes, they weren't my taste but Aikatrina seemed to like them.

We came up to the house and I could sense that something was very wrong. I couldn't place it until I was feet away from the boundary line.

I could see the one acre of fence around the yard. The old swing set was rusty the playground was covered in snow. The trampoline was weighed down by snow and leaves. The pool had more dirt and snow then water. I don't think I had ever used any of the stuff. It was like a playground that I didn't have to share. Yet I hated the place.

Then I saw the house it was still just as silent and quaint as it had been when I'd lived there. I felt a pang of sorrow that I wouldn't get to live here for a while. The outside was an eighties style split level and the once light blue color was more of a brownish yellow.

All of that was taken in with just seconds before I would pass the boundary line. I was speeding towards it. It was too late to stop, I would hit the house. Oh well, it's not like it's the first time it happened…

_Stop!_

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**Happy Thanksgiving!  
**


	3. Carousel

**Well sorry for the late update, I've been busy with school and band. **

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Chapter 3

Carousel

_The fever breaks when it's too much to take,_

_So you can put your weapons down_

Aikatrina

The house was cold when we walked in and Grace wouldn't let me take my jacket off. She went to the woodpile out back and started a fire in the fireplace while I flicked on the heat. The house was small and warmed up fast. Grace started on breakfast while I went exploring around the house. I went up the stairs.

The hall way was dark so I flicked on a light. The light flickered and illuminated the hallway. All along it were photographs of a boy at different ages. One of the boy at about five was playing in the leaves in the backyard. His hair was an auburn color, like Lilly's was and his eyes were a gray color like my right eye. Shamrock.

As I walked down the hall the boy got older, at about fifteen other people started being included, Aunt Annabeth, Uncle Percy, Cousin Nico and even one of Thalia. At the end of the hall was one of him and Grace.

Shamrock had his arm around Grace's shoulders, they were both smiling and it was clearly winter. Grace was wearing a silver Hunters of Artemis coat and a green hat, Shamrock wore the same Jacket Grace was wearing now. They looked so happy, so… different. The Grace I knew looked tired all the time but this Grace looked happy.

I opened the door and was hit by a scent of the forest, the window was open as though someone had been escaping. I wanted to close it but the window refused to shut, after being open for fourteen years it wouldn't open .

Oddly there was nothing that indicated that the window had been open for years. The bed was fresh and clean, slightly faded but clean. I guess that was the product of the shield that Apollo had placed around the house. I walked over to the closet and opened it, the tunics hanging in it moved as I opened the door.

A smell I couldn't place yet recognized reached my nose, the forest with a hint of home. Where had I smelled that before? I decided that since the scent was one I could barely place that I must have smelled it when I was very, very young. I decided it was probably nothing and walked to the room across the hall.

This room was obviously Lord Apollo's, it was covered in portraits of him with various famous women. Women. That was one thing Apollo loved. I remembered the time when he was babysitting and I caught him making out with Taylor Swift. That was interesting.

Grace called me down stairs and greeted me with a plate of eggs and a can of _Pledge Lemon Fresh Duster. _I smiled at her and thanked her for the breakfast. She nodded and we went into the living room. Once again sadness flashed across her face though only for a moment this time before she smiled.

"I remember this place." She whispered. "The last time I was here Shamrock was holding a tiny baby you. He claimed to hate you though I knew otherwise. I knew he loved you right up until he died."

"What was he wearing that day?" I asked.

She frowned. "Well it was the day of the big party on Olympus and he was wearing a black tuxedo, and his tennis shoes." She smiled at the memory. "I was wearing a sage colored dress that was lower cut then I was used to and Lilly had forced me into it. You were wearing a tiny white dress Apollo had found and your little tuft of black hair was curly as ever."

"Why do you remember that day so well?" I asked.

Grace's face was suddenly very solemn "Sit down Aikatrina, its time you knew something." I sat next to her leaving my eggs on the coffee table, she turned to face me and for the first time in all the years I had known her she looked hundreds of years older than her appearance dictated. It was all in the eyes, they had always seemed older than her, most Huntresses eyes did but Grace's suddenly seemed as ancient and sad as my mother's.

My father always said that Grace knew too much sadness for someone her age but I didn't know what he'd meant by that. Suddenly I felt as if I knew. I had known Grace was the sole survivor of a devastating factory fire but what I didn't know was suddenly becoming very, very clear.

"AS you know my family died when I was fourteen and I was sent to a home for girls." She started. I nodded. "Well that home was awful. There were one hundred girls from ages 1 – 15 after that the girls were sent on the Orphan Train to the west in the hope that they would be adopted there. Sickness swept through the place as fast as the fire swept through the factory . I was just days away from my fifteenth birthday and very sick." She took a shallow breath as though haunted by the ghost of a long gone pain. "At the time all we knew was that I had pneumonia. My lungs were slowly filling with liquid and I was drowning in my own bed. Breathing hurt and I knew I was going to die."

"But you didn't!" I cried.

"Hush child." Grace scolded. "I knew it was inevitable. I had given up all hope, all things I had previously known, I was raised in a Catholic family and always thought God would take care of me. Suddenly I wasn't so sure anymore, for months I hadn't known what I believed or what I knew. One day a girl Zoё Nightshade came to the orphanage. She saw me and instantly came over to me. She took the bed next to me, which no one else wanted. That night she had gone to fetch me water when I noticed she had a dagger in her belt, something no one else had noticed. When she came back I asked her to kill me. To put me out of my misery. She refused and told me she had a better solution. That night your mother came and found me. I didn't even think twice about joining. Soon I was healthy and stronger then I'd ever been."

"What about Shamrock?" I wondered.

"I'm getting there." She pursed her lips and I went silent. "For one hundred and two years I didn't trust anyone except your mother, Zoё and a few other Huntresses, Emily and Aliona. Then without warning your brother came hurdling into my life, took me by that hand and swept me away. I learned to trust him and he learned to trust me. I learned we had something in common. We had both had too much pain for our age. After he fell off the cliff I thought that was it. He was gone, he had come into and out of my life just like everyone else had. I didn't want to believe it though, because he made me a promise. He told me that no matter what he would come back to me. He wouldn't leave me alone like everyone else. He kept that promise."

"How?" I blurted my mind filling with a million questions.

"We're getting there." Grace chided. "He came back with an Irish boy named Liam O'Connor, it was slightly ironic because we had gone to the same school for a while. The important thing was Shamrock was back. I was furious at him, he'd had the nerve to not only leave me but to come strolling right back in like nothing had ever happened. That was the beauty of Shamrock though, he was so, innocent, even though he sometimes did horrid things that made you want to hit him you could never quite do it. Though I had sure given it a go." She laughed "He crashed his own funeral you know."

"He what?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Crashed his own funeral." She laughed a bit. "HE appeared just as we were about to burn the shroud, he just appeared in a flash of silver light. Over the next two months we got even closer than we had been, we spent the spring hunting and fishing. He was always a fun person to be around even though we would get so mad at each other that we would sometimes be in a full-fledged fight."

"You fought my brother?!" I couldn't believe it. Grace was so sweet I could never see her fighting someone.

"Yes I did, many times. Then we went on the quest to find your father. When Shamrock met him he wasn't too happy, he was angry with him. That was his fatal flaw he would get so angry that he couldn't think of anything else. Finding you only added to his rage. That day at the party I told Shamrock something very important. I told him I loved him." Grace said.

"And?!" I yelled.

"Sh, Aikatrina." Grace shushed. " And, when your brother died I realized he loved you too. Once again I had everything I found near and dear to me ripped from me. I wanted to believe he would keep his promise. In my heart though I knew that wasn't true. I knew he was really gone. So I raised you. With Orion's help we managed to bring up a pretty amazing little girl." She hugged me tightly and I hugged her back taking in everything I had just been told.

"Grace?" I asked.

"Yes Aikatrina?" She looked me in the eyes.

"Do you think Shamrock will keep his promise?" I asked.

"Oh, I think if he could have kept it he would have. He couldn't though, because he took an arrow of fate." She whispered.

"A-am I anything like him?" I inquired.

"Yes, you have his zeal, and love for life." She kissed my forehead. "I'm going to clean up the kitchen. There is a trampoline out back if you want to go and play for a while.

Grace was right there was a trampoline, and a swing set, and a pool. The 'backyard' was huge, more like a pasture to keep horses in, as a matter of fact there was a stable against the back fence. The trampoline was the closet to the house and a shovel leaned next to it. I grabbed it and climbed on the trampoline.

I spent an hour scooping the snow off of the trampoline, the springs were in a good condition, I suppose some form of magic protected them. I spent about twenty minutes bouncing around before Grace called me in for hot cocoa. I ran inside my black curls flying behind me and grabbed my mug.

"Thank you Grace!" I said.

"You're welcome. I'm going to get a fire in the fire place." She walked out of the kitchen and I looked out the window and thought I saw the branches rustle…

Grace

As Grace began the walk down to the stable where the wood pile was kept she felt tears well in her eyes, the last time she had collected wood from this pile had been after Volterra. She had collected the wood to keep herself busy while Shamrock came around. She wiped the tears from her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

She couldn't cry now, she could cry when she got to her safe and warm tent. Just not here and not now. Not with Aikatrina relying on her, this was the hardest day of the year for her. Not only was it his birthday but it was the day they celebrated his death. On this day, on February 14th every year she wanted to curl into a ball and cry. She couldn't though as a famous man had once said "Keep calm and carry on" She had to do just that. She had to keep calm and carry on. If not for Aikatrina for herself.

Sometimes she wondered how her Mam had done it after they left Ireland. She wondered how she had managed to remain hopeful on the outside even when she was dying on the inside. She wondered how Thalia did it.

Thalia who often times was left to support the hunt completely. With Lady Artemis almost entirely cut off from her hunters and Orion not comfortable taking charge of the hunt that burden was left mostly to Thalia. Thalia had appointed her own "Chief" To take care of things while she was gone so that way Orion didn't need to step into that hard to bear and uncomfortable role.

Even though she was managing to do just that with Aikatrina that didn't mean there weren't days when she wanted nothing more than to cry until she could cry no more. There were days when Grace had felt death was better than life. Then there were the things that made her life worth living. Aikatrina's smile, so like that of Shamrock's, Aikatrina's sense of humor, her laugh and her mischievous grin. The days when Aikatrina need her comfort because her mother could hardly stand to see her. Those were the days when she knew how her death would affect everyone around her. She couldn't do that to Aikatrina. She couldn't leave her. Even if she had tried to kill herself in the end the thought of Aikatrina would have stopped her.

Grace entered the barn and collected the wood thinking of the scars that covered her. Scars that weren't just on her heart.

She started the fire and went into the bathroom. She pulled her jeans and shirt off and looked at her body in the mirror. Up at the top of her thighs were the scars of many years of pain. They were high enough up that even if she wore shorts they couldn't be seen. They also laced her stomach, and just below her breasts. They had been made years ago, right after Shamrock's death and they had been made with his dagger. Some were recent from the last month. This wasn't something she was proud of, she used Ambrosia and nectar to get rid of any visible ones and no one knew but her.

She pulled out her dagger and made a small cut across her stomach, it hurt but it was a small bit of relief to her. Aikatrina called her name. Quickly Grace poured some ambrosia over her new cut, redressed and left the bathroom.

"Yes Aikatrina?" Grace asked.

"I just wondered where you were." Aikatrina said.

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." She promised.

"Good." Aikatrina smiled up at her and Grace instantly felt guilty for what she had done. Aikatrina always made her feel that way. "Can we go up to the attic?"

"Sure." Grace said. Aikatrina dashed up the stairs her childlike innocence something that Grace hoped she would never loose.

By the time Grace had climbed the stairs and the ladder into the attic Aikatrina was looking through a box of baby clothes that had once belonged to Shamrock. Grace sat on a stool and watched her look through the box, inspecting each piece of clothing as though deciding if she would put a child in it. Some of the clothes she wrinkled her nose and some she raised her dark eyebrows at.

Apollo did have strange taste in what infants should wear to bed or out and about. One particularly ugly onesie had a large picture of Apollo on it and said "Hot like the sun god". It was awful, then again most of the clothes were awful. No wonder Sham had hated his baby pictures.

Grace opened a box of photographs and nearly started crying. They were pictures of her with Shamrock. Her bending over him after Volterra. One of them just minutes after they came back to camp after Ellis Island. Her hugging Shamrock after he came back from the Revolution. Her favorite of them was the one of the two of them dancing at the party on Olympus. There was even one of him holding her in the underworld. She had no idea how Apollo had gotten them all.

Aikatrina

The boxes in the attic were amazing. They were filled with things that had once belonged to her older brother. One of the boxes held his baby clothes, another his weaponry, another held photographs that hadn't been hung on the walls, and still another held things I assumed had been once hung on the wall.

The entire time I was looking though the boxes Grace was looking through old photographs. Her eyes full of tears, for once in my life I felt scared that she wouldn't be there. I had the haunting feeling that I had nearly lost her once before though I wasn't sure when or where I had been. I remember her l telling me last winter when I was sick with a fever "The fever breaks when it's too much to take" at the time I hadn't really thought of anything other than my fever breaking. Now the words came back to haunt me. Was there a double meaning to her words?

"Grace?" I asked.

She looked up from the photo she had been looking at. "Yes Aikatrina?"

"Will the fever break?" I asked.

For a moment she seemed confused and then she finally said. "No, there is no fever.

"Okay." I said.

"Are you okay Aikatrina?" Grace raised her eyebrows.

"I'm fine." I nodded.

"Okay. I'm going downstairs to make lunch." She climbed down the ladder and left me alone in the attic.

Shamrock's attic was like any other attic. Filled with things you would put in an attic, but there were also a Greek touch to the place. The right hand wall had a mural to the gods painted on it and a brazier below it. The coals in it had long since turned to dust and been blown around the floor. On the left hand wall was a window with a small area that I could sit in if I wanted to.

The next thing that caught my eye was a box that lay just under the window labeled _Grace_. I walked over and opened it. The first thing I pulled out was a letter.

_Dear whoever the hell found this,_

_ Let's get a few things clear 1) I had no intention of falling in love with Grace and 2) When I met Grace I hated her with the heat of a thousand suns. _

_ Of course if you have found this it means I have died and Apollo has put this box in the attic. It also means you have a brain the size of a mouse because you would have to be incredibly stupid and have a death wish. Apollo would kill just about anyone who came up here, so these are the last words you will ever read. _

_ Over the last six months I have collected things, little things that bring Grace to my mind, pictures I've been given, a lock or two of her hair from the time the hunters gave her a trim. Just little things mostly, she doesn't know about this so I swear if you tell her I will rise up from the grave and haunt you. _

_ I did love her though. I always will even though I am dead. _

_ The Amazingly Awesome Shamrock Orion Clover June 9, 2012._

He had written this letter just six days before his death, almost like he knew he would die. It was a little creepy. I pulled the first photo out of box.

In the photo there were seven little Graces who I assumed to be her sisters. Grace was standing in the middle of them and holding the youngest one. The photo appeared to be hundreds of years old yet so beautifully preserved that it could have been taken yesterday. The seven girls and seven boys were standing in front of a house. The woman in the back who I assumed to be the mother is pregnant, just subtly so, but pregnant all the same. Grace's hair hung loose down to her waist, not tied back like the rest of the girls.

The next one was a photo of just Grace and though she was smiling it never reached her eyes. She wore a plain dress and her hair was loose again. Paper clipped to the photograph was a piece of ver old paper that read:

_Name: Grace O'Donally, _

_Age: 14_

_Date of Birth: May 16, 1896_

_Date or Arrival: April 16, 1910 _

_Birth Country: Ireland _

_Background: Grace O'Donally's parents and 13 siblings died in a factory fire, she was the sole survivor and was sent to Saint Elizabeth's Home For Girls. _

It was a record of her time in the orphanage. I assumed Shamrock had copied these two objects as they were clearly not original objects.

The next thing was a small Ziploc Bag with a bit of hair in it Grace's hair. That was a little bit weird but from what I knew about Shamrock it was totally in character.

At the bottom of the shoe box was a photo, a recent one of Grace staring out at what appeared to be the Ocean from the State of liberty. Her hair blew behind her and appeared to be about elbow length and her clothes whipped in the wind. Shamrock must have taken it when she wasn't looking. I turned it over there was a bit of writing.

_June 1, 2012 Grace, Aikatrina and I went to the Statue of Liberty so my parents could be, ah liberated of the baby. Grace said this was the first thing she saw when she came to America. _

I had been there. I would have been about eight weeks old at the time, about the size of a large doll. It was strange to think about Grace, Shamrock, Lilly and me all being together. Especially since most days Grace and Lilly couldn't stand each other. They hadn't gotten along since Grace had started raising me, and me and Lilly had never gotten along either.

Lilly was moody, and kind of annoying. She didn't seem to care what happened to her and she didn't want to stay with the hunt. She was only staying because she knew if she left Lady Artemis would hate me and Grace even more than she did. Though we never got along Lilly never wanted something bad to happen to either of us.

I sighed and closed the shoe box. I wanted to take it with me but I knew that Grace would wonder what it was and since I had no way to hide it, the box would remain here. I sighed and went over to the brazier.

The thick coal dust sat at the bottom, waiting for someone to come and take pity on it and scrub it clean. Lady Artemis would be appalled if she saw this. The braziers in camp always had to be cleaned after every use. That was usually my job since they were small and light. Our braziers were about the size of cookie sheets, this one was about the size of my bed and appeared to be made out of pure gold. I am sure that it was once very beautiful though now it lays covered by a layer of dust just waiting for someone to come by and clean it.

Something small and shiny lay under it. I bent down and picked it up. It was a drachma. A very old one, it had a picture of Lady Artemis on one side and Mount Olympus on the other. Mount Olympus looked nice. The last time I had been there with Orion, last Sunday, war had been brewing between the gods. War over Shamrock.

According to Zeus, Lady Artemis was to occupied with his death to tend her duties. Now people were starting to take sides. Apollo, Athena, Poseidon , Hermes and Hades (Of all people) Backed my mother up. Hera, Demeter, Dionysus, Ares, Aphrodite and Hephaestus backed Zeus. It was a grim situation to be in for sure but no one could see any way around it. There will be war.

I sighed and walked over to the window. I climbed up on the ledge where it stuck out and looked out at the forest. I could sense something coming and it was coming fast. I didn't know what it was, but it was fast and it had passengers. I knew I should have gotten Grace but I wanted to find out what it was, not have Grace try to shelter me.

It came closer, it came faster than it came flying out of the woods and stopped, fell over, got up, turned and ran back into the forest, towing to children with it.

Only it wasn't an it anymore. It was a boy with auburn hair, in a black hunting tunic, a deep green backpack on.

The boy was Shamrock…

* * *

**Hopefully there will be an update** **on the 26th, the day afte****r Christmas. I will be doing a Christmas special so to** **speak, called "Deck The Halls With Boughs of Shamrock" That will be up on Christmas Day!**

**-Ginny, Sham, Grace, and Aikatrina  
**


	4. 21 Guns

**I know, I know its been a long time... but honestly is a little complicated as to why it took this long. Just don't blame me , blame Shamrock. **

* * *

Four

Key – _The Wild_

_**The Conscious**_

_**The Instinct**_

_Shamrock/Aikatrina_

21 Guns

_Do you know what's worth fighting for_

_When it's not worth dying for_

_Does it take your breath away_

_And you feel yourself suffocating_

Shamrock

I fell over, and before the kids could ask what I was doing I drug them off again. I was speeding back towards the other side of the country, but it was too late, I had already been seen. Running wouldn't change the fact that Aikatrina knew I was alive. This was how everything was going to collapse around me. They would all know I was alive and Grace would be heart broken – even more then she was now– that I wasn't coming back to her.

I kept running ignoring the kids who clung to me desperately I had to make it across the country. I had to make it, if I didn't, if I was caught – I didn't want to think about it. When I finally collapsed in roman territory Elizabeth sprung up.

"That was totally awesome! Can we do that again?" She was bouncing around and just about losing her mind.

"No, no… we cannot... Your mother… is going… to be here… soon… and I… have to… talk to her." I gasped, my lungs were screaming for air.

"Well Uncle Shamrock whatever that was about, I did not enjoy it one little bit!" Jason straightened up and dusted off his clothing.

"I've… noticed… a pattern… in your…. Behavior…, you don't… like… anything!" I managed between gasps of air.

_**I don't think running that far that fast was a good idea.**_

_No, really I think I'm just going to do that every day!_

_**Your sarcasm, while persistent is not amusing.**_

_Really I thought being able to use sarcasm while my brain has a less than adequate amount of oxygen was rather enduring!_

_**No, that only made it more annoying.**_

_You know what else is annoying? Being left in the dark for fourteen years!_

_**Fair enough.**_

I handed the TV remote control to Elizabeth and gasped out that I was going to shower. Once in the bathroom I started the shower and stepped in, as the hot water rushed over me I felt myself relax. My little sister had seen me, I had seen her.

If Aikatrina was anything like me she would come after me. She wouldn't care that it would upset Grace, that it would upset the balance of the world she would just come. She would also becoming fast, as fast as they would let her.

I also know that it was not chance or even luck that had caused her to see me. It was fate. The Fates must have this in their plans somehow. How? What could they possibly do other than cause sheer destruction to the world? That was my job!

I stepped out of the shower and dressed in my praetor's robes. Next step was to call Reyna and let her know we were back. I wanted these kids out of here so I could think over the next plan of action. If there is one thing that being a Roman for fourteen years taught me it's that without careful planning things have a tendancy to fall apart, like my plans. Well, and my life, and relationship… so yeah everything.

I dialed Reyna's number and got an answer almost immeadiatly "Hello?"

"Hi Reyna we're back." I informed.

"That's good, I'm almost to the Legion. Are you okay you sound panicky?" I could almost here her frown.

"Oh, I'm fine. So how's the baby?" I asked.

"It's a girl." Reyna replied.

"Congratulations. Hopefully this one won't be like Jason." I laughed.

"Well its needless to say he is a politician." She admitted.

"Yeah, Poly meaning many and tics as in blood sucking creatures." I laughed.

"True, I'll see you in a few minutes Shamrock." Reyna hung up.

"Okay kiddos, your mom will be here in a few minutes, so get ready to go." I said, within seconds Jason was standing at the door. "I don't know if I ought to be relieved or offended at your speed and desire to get out of here.

"Offended." He answered.

Reyna opened the door and stepped in. "Hi."

"Mommy!" Elizabeth said running to hug her mother.

"Hello Elizabeth. Why Jason I see you're already to go." She smiled.

"Yes I am mother. You know I hate it here." HE pursed his lips.

"Hi Reyna." I said.

"Hey Sham." She smiled. "Ready Lizzy?"

"Yes mommy!" Elizabeth smiled. "Bye Uncle Shamrock!"

"Bye Elizabeth. Bye Jason." I waved. Elizabeth waved back, Jason didn't.

As soon as they were gone I opened my laptop and opened my email. When Lupa said I couldn't have contact with anyone from my past she never said anything about my sisters past. I emailed Jacob Black, I told him of the small issue of my sister and begged him to intercept as soon as he could. Jake was the only one who knew I was alive and unfortunately we still hated each other. Oh well old habits die hard.

After that the mental exhaustion got to me and I fell back on the bed and sank into a nightmare of a dream.

_I stood in a long white hall, it was so familiar, where was I? On the left wall there was a sign which read in Arabic ,Russian, Spanish, French, German, English and a multitude of other languages I couldn't recognize. The English said "Women's Ward" then the screaming started, horrible blood curdling screams. _

_I knew the screams, it had been years since I'd heard those screams yet they were as fresh in my mind as though I'd heard them yesterday. Grace. I didn't hesitate I broke into a run, I burst into a room at the end of the hall and what I saw nearly made me vomit. _

_Grace lay on the bed, it didn't look like she had clothing but she didn't appear naked either. Her fiery hair was spread out on a white pillow and she lay atop the white blankets. Her normally florescent skin was covered in long jagged cuts. New ones were appearing out of know where and blood ran down her skin, and was quickly soaking the white sheets. _

_I reached for her attempting to use my t-shirt to sop up the blood, it wasn't working she was getting paler by the minute, she was dying before my eyes. Why? Why was I being shown this? I knew in my heart why, because I had died in front of her like this and some divine figure was finally giving me what I deserves. Which meant that they knew I was alive. They knew I was still out here and they were threatening me. _

I sat up screaming. Completely unable to control the tears that were streaming down my face. Whether they were out of anger or sadness I didn't know.

_Why are they showing me this? _

_**Well you do kind of deserve it…**_

_That is not what I need right now! _

_**Well it's the truth!**_

_Ugh! I almost wish you were still dormant! _

I flew out of my bed and out of my room. I ran. Past the barracks, past the coliseum, past the Senate house and into the San Francisco night. I ran down the twisting, sloping streets of the city and let my feet lead me where they may.

Was someone really torturing Grace? Was she really going to die if I didn't return? Was the small chance that she wasn't being tortured enough to convince me to stay with the legion? I knew the answer to the last one. No it wasn't enough. I had to go back and I had to go now.

The cold air cut into my body as I ran, I ran to a familiar house on a familiar street. I'd seen children brought home here, I'd attended those children's birthday parties. It was the home of an old and somewhat odd friend. I knocked on the door and a familiar face answered.

"Shamrock? What are you doing here its late." Reyna frowned.

"I-I need to leave and I need to leave tonight." I panted.

"what? Why?" She stepped back to let me into the house.

"I need to leave because the gods know where I am and they could be torturing Grace." I said. Reyna lead me into the living room and told me to sit down. She brought me a cup of tea.

"Why do you need to leave so urgently?" She asked sitting down sipping her tea.

I told her everything, where I went with the kids, what I saw and how I was seen. I told her about the dream of Grace being tortured and how I knew that it would become – and might have already become – reality for her. She was silent, nodding occasionally and wincing when her baby kicked.

"So you are acting purely on instinct thinking that you have to go back to the Greeks and tell them you are alive and explain where they were to see a girl who thinks your dead?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Pretty much yes." I nodded.

"Honestly if it wasn't you I was talking to I would probably take you the emergency room in fear for your safety." She sighed. "Alright you can go, but there's someone you need to meet first."

"Who?" I frowned.

"I'll be right back." She set her tea down and climbed up the stairs. I waited in my usual not so patient manner.

About ten minutes later she came down stairs followed by a little girl, the girl had black ringlets for hair and was rubbing her eyes sleepily, she looked around eight or nine. She wore a long Victorian era night gown and was speaking with an Irish accent that was ever so light.

"What is it at this hour Mrs. Grace?" She yawned sleepily

"Sweet heart someone's here to see you." Reyna said to the girl gently

The girl opened her eyes, one silver as the moon one a metallic green, her skin was tanned as though she spent a lot of time in the forest. Her hair fell in shoulder length black ringlets like Orion, and the few freckles on her nose reminded me of Lilly. The soft accent reminded me of Grace. The part of her that hit me the hardest was her figure, so small, so fairy like, she looked like my mother.

"By the gods of Olympus!" She exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Is that Sham? _The _Shamrock?!"

"The one and only!" I smiled "I take you are Aikatrina?"

"A-aye I am." She nodded her curls bouncing up and down. "WH-why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, you're what nine?" I asked.

"Fourteen adjusted but, eleven in form." She nodded. "I-I've come for you. Things on Olympus are bad, really bad. We need you. Grace needs you. I need Grace so however indirectly I need you too…"

"Wh-what wrong with Grace?" I asked.

"Things are bed Shamrock, you know you broke her heart all those years ago. I think she's hiding something from me. Something that could potentially kill her if she isn't careful. I think the only way to fix it is to show her you're still alive." She whispered. "I can't lose her."

"So wait, you are essentially using me, for your own personal gain?" I asked.

"When you put it that way it sounds bad but, yeah pretty much." Aikatrina nods.

"Okay fine with me." I said. "We can't take a plane though.

"You can take a car." Reyna says holding up the keys to Jason's silver Honda. "If you tell him I'll kill you."

"Yes ma'am. Just let me get dressed then we can leave." Aikatrina nodded walking back up the stairs and disappearing.

It took me a minute to fully comprehend what I'd just been through. Grace was doing something that could get her killed. Things on Olympus were detiorating and I was being used for someone else's personal gain. I'll admit it was weird being on the other side of that table. The one where I was the pawn and they were the chess player.

I don't think Aikatrina even knew the magnitude of what we were dealing with on Olympus. If things were as bad as they were in my dream then things were pretty damn bad. The gods don't torture mortals, play with them, and make them the pieces in their games yes, torture them no. They aren't like that. If its gotten to a point where it is like that then everything could go downhill. Not just America, the world. It wouldn't even start in America. It would start in Greece and from there it would slowly seep into every civilization in the world, reaching its pinnacle of destruction in America.

Reyna sent one of her dogs to retrieve my things from the legion and I waited for Aikatrina. Ten minutes passed, then twenty then a half an hour. At the forty-five minute mark she finally came down and she was wearing the most ridiculous get up ever.

"What the hell is that?" I asked.

"What?" She frowned looking around clearly not aware that the problem was not around her it was _on_ her.

She was wearing an emerald green cotton dress, one that looked like it had come off of Grace's mother's clothes line. Her silver hunting pack hung over one shoulder. It was scary how much like my mother she looked, despite the dark hair, she had her face and nose, only her eyes were warm and bright.

"Um, that dress, isn't going to work…" I said.

"Why not?" Aikatrina frowned. Oh boy, this was going to take longer then I thought…

After thirty minute's we'd successfully found jeans and a shirt that would fit Aikatrina and she would wear, it was always 'I don't like gray!' or 'that's too low cut.' Finally she settled on a long sleeved purple shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans. We climbed into the car and waved good bye.

"Okay, since its three am and we have to drive through the city, turn on the traffic station." I ordered.

Aikatrina nodded, she was set up in the passanger seat with some books, her ipod, a pillow and a blanket. What more could she ask for? "Um, which one's green?"

"Why do you ask?" I asked mildly concerned that my sister didn't know her colors.

"I'm red-green color blind." She explained. "I can't see which one's which."

"Oh, the one on the left." I said, relieved that she had an actual reason she didn't know red and green.

"So, uh, how is Grace?" I asked hesitantly.

"She's not good Shamrock, she's surely shattered now that I'm gone. " Aikatrina looked at her hands guiltily. "Which is why you have to come back, I don't care about Lady Artemis, I don't care about Olympus I just want Grace to be okay…"

"she'll be fine kiddo, I know her pretty well she doesn't do anything she doesn't want to." I patted her shoulder as I pulled on to the main road.

"That's just it Shamrock, I think she wants to die…"

Aikatrina

Okay, we're going to back up a bit to that evening when I got back from Shamrocks old house. Grace took me back to camp and heated some water for my bath. While I bathed my mind was racing, I hadn't told Grace what I'd seen that day. It would've been too much for her.

"Aikatrina, go down to the river and get some water, we're having soup for dinner." Grace ordered after I'd brushed my hair.

"Aye." I nodded taking the bucket from Grace. I walked down to the river, before I bent to get the water I pulled a drachma out of my pocket. "Oh, Iris goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering and let me speak to Percy Jackson."

"Hello?" Percy asked.

"Hi, Uncle Percy, its Aikatrina Clover!" I smiled earnestly.

"Okay, um what do you need Ai?" he asked.

"I need to get to Reyna, fast." I said, my voice urgent.

"Okay, why?" He frowned confused.

"Because today Grace and I were in Shamrock's old house and I saw him, he came out of the forest with two kids!" I said urgently. "I mean, I've only seen pictures but they looked like Reyna's kids!"

"Okay, okay calm down Ai, I'll be bye at 2 am with Blackjack to pick you up okay?" He sighed.

"Okay, I'll be ready." I said.

"Pack warm." Were his last instructions before he was gone.

I quickly scooped up the water and went back to camp, the hunt was back and I poured the water in the large stew pot Grace had over the fire. Then I turned and went back into my tent.

My back pack sat on the bed and I opened it, and my drawer, I pulled out two pairs of jeans, two t-shirts, my woolen green dress and a sweater, I put them in the bag. I would change before I went with Percy. I also tossed in my ipod and a book, then hid the bag under my cot. The last thing I needed was for Grace to freak out on me about packing up.

If I had my way Grace wouldn't even know I was planning on leaving, and I was hell-bent on having it my way. Grace didn't know that years of watching her hide her emotions and thoughts had made me equally as good at those things. I was planning on using that to my advantage, though I did feel bad about lying to her.

"AIkatrinia!" Grace called.

"Aye Grace?" I asked.

"Dinners ready come on." She ordered.

"Aye!" I called back and exited the tent, I had changed into my plain cotton dress she'd made for me and saw Grace had changed as well, she was wearing her hunting clothes. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes I'm going with the hunt tonight, we're tracking a large hellhound. Will you be alright with your Da and Mam?" She smiled handing me my bowl of stew.

"Aye, I'll be fine." I nodded, not exactly thrilled about being left with my mother for the night, but I'd be fine. With the hunt gone leaving camp at two am would be easier then I'd thought.

After dinner Grace said good bye to me and I went into my tent, though it was only eight it would be best to get as much sleep as possible for the night a head.

When my alarm clock went off at one thirty I quickly turned it off. Without turning on the lamp I pulled my back pack and clothes out. I put on leggings and jeans to ensure I would stay warm and my long sleeved black t-shirt. I remembered hearing how Shamrock had worn all black when he didn't want to be found and since the t-shirt was the closest I would come to all black it would have to do. I tied my sneakers and brushed my curly black hair and pulled a black knit cap over my head.

Percy was just landing as I exited the tent. "Ai, hurry up I don't want your mother sensing me."

"Coming." I muttered and leapt onto blackjack. As we flew off into the night I was thankful for the cap and warm clothes , the wind was like ice cutting into me on all sides. "How long until we get there."

"Thirty minutes if we're fast." Percy sighed. "But we have to fly low, we don't want Zeus or your mother detecting our presence."

"My mother won't care, grandfather will though." I scoffed.

"We'll also have to skirt around major cities and towns, we don't want the mortals to see us." Percy sighed. "Can you please tell me why you need to do this?"

"Because, Shamrock's alive and I have to bring him back!" I insisted.

"Aikatrina, just because he's alive doesn't mean he should come back." Percy's voice had gotten soft.

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

"I mean have you considered how Grace will take all of this? Maybe its better we just leave him dead." Percy sighed.

"No, Grace needs him back, she needs to know he's okay!" I insisted.

"Ai, have you thought that maybe Shamrock didn't come back because he didn't want to?" Percy asked.

"No, it can't be true, he loved her, and love is the strongest thing in the world! Right?" I whispered suddenly unsure.

"Aikatrina you're eleven there are things you just haven't been around long enough to understand." Percy tried.

"Techniqually I'm fourteen." I interjected.

"Either way you don't understand a lot and one of those things is the way your brother worked, he didn't do something he didn't want to, and if he was alive and wanted to come back there are very few things that would stop him from coming back." He whispered. "Your brother has defied orders from the gods because he wanted to do the very thing they were forbidding, but if he didn't want to do something he wouldn't do it no matter who told him to. You're alive because of how stubborn he was. You would've died if he hadn't taken the hit for you."

"Percy if he took the hit and healed me, is he dying?" I whispered.

"Its possible, and maybe if he his that's why he didn't come back, but he is immortal. The chances of him being killed by what was wrong with you are small because he was immortal when it affected him." Percy explained. "But truthfully I don't know that's something you'd have to ask your mother."

I held my tongue, it was easier then explaining why I couldn't go to my mother. Percy knew there was a rift between me and my mother, but he didn't know the full extent. Hardly anybody did, it's not exactly easy to explain why you don't talk to your mother but you see her every day. Lots of teenagers don't like their parents but I've never liked my mother. I never even wanted to have a relationship with her, why did I need to when I had Grace? She'd always been there and always cared for me.

I didn't know I'd dozed off until Percy was picking me up and carrying me into a house. I looked up and saw the Golden Gate Bridge to my left. The house we entered was warm and comforting. There were toys scattered around and photo's in the entry way showed pictures of kids. The woman who Percy was talking to appeared to be Reyna. Her dark curls were pulled back in a clean roman style and despite being at least six months pregnant she still stood straight and wore the purple and gold colors of Rome.

"Reyna this is Aikatrina Faye Clover." Percy introduced, nudging me so I would wake a bit more. I lifted my head from his shoulder.

"Hello." I whispered.

"Hello Aikatrina, come on I'll take you to the guest room and you can get some sleep." She whispered. I nodded and hugged Percy once more and he set me down. I followed Reyna upstairs to a bedroom. The room was white and blue, the bed was a twin, and slightly bigger then my cot in camp.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"You're welcome, get some sleep and we'll figure this out in the morning." Reyna smiled, flicking the light on and leaving the room.

I changed into my nightgown and crawled into bed, falling quickly into a dreamless sleep.

It could only have been an hour or so later when Reyna was gently waking me. I opened my eyes sleepily and looked around. It was still dark outside and the clock read 11 pm. I'd only been asleep an hour, Reyna motioned for me to follow her. I did so wordlessly and what I saw surprised me.

His auburn hair was messy as it was in the photos, kind of wild like he'd run several miles before coming here, he had Lady Artemis' features, small but strong. His ears and nose we're my father's though and his nose seemed wrinkled like he was perpetually scowling. The eyes were different then they'd always been though. In the photo I had they were both grayish, though Grace told me there were green, here one was that grayish color like my one eye was but the other eye glowed like the moon. I could see the hardened look in his eyes, the same one my mother had. His jaw was set, like he'd come here on a mission, his t-shirt was wrinkled and purple, not a hunting tunic and not an orange camp half-blood t-shirt. The jeans he wore were faded and I had the impression he'd had them for several years now. Despite Fourteen years having passed he physically looked the same, put a hunting tunic on him and he could've stepped straight out of the picture I had in my tent.

The back pack over his shoulder told me he was ready to travel, and if my instincts were right then I was coming with him.

_**Hello Aikatrina. **_I jumped.

_Wh-who are you? Where are you_

_**I'm your Conscious, I am not a who and I am nowhere I simply reside in the back of your mind and help you make decisions. **_

_Why are you speaking to me?_

_**Because I can and I have to, I used to speak to your brother but since the accident we've been separated, as have Wild and I. He now speaks to instinct. **_

_Have you always been there?_

_**Yes I always have but you've never needed me until now, and now that you do need me I pray that you listen to me more than your brother did. He was always difficult. **_


End file.
